Alyssa’s Journey Through Scoliosis Surgery and Recovery
A pediatric checkup revealed what Alyssa couldn’t feel. She had adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), a curvature of the spine that was already at 36 degrees.
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June 24, 2025
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June 18, 2025
Kiely’s Strength: How Halo Gravity Traction and Life-changing Spinal Surgery at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Helped One Teen Overcome Scoliosis
At the time, they were living in Louisiana and chose to simply monitor the condition. As Kiely grew, the curvature on her back became more noticeable.
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June 3, 2025
Zayn Gets the Chance to Chase His Dreams After Life-Changing Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) Surgery for Cerebral Palsy
At 6 months of age and now home from the hospital, the twins were progressing at different rates. Zayn wasn’t sitting up or crawling like his brother Omar, who was steadily meeting his milestones. That’s when doctors diagnosed Zayn with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy that ...
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March 5, 2025
When Every Second Counts: Memorial Hermann Memorial City Delivers Lifesaving Care after Rare Pregnancy Complication
Shruti, who had previously given birth to their first child at the same location in 2018, was admitted for monitoring overnight and told that her baby would likely be born the next day.
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February 19, 2025
John’s Unexpected Childhood Diagnosis Leads to Lifelong Congenital Heart Care
When he was just 13 years old, John Gallegos had no idea he was living with a life-threatening congenital heart defect.
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January 29, 2025
A Dual Journey: How Specialized Maternal and NICU Care at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Helped Anh and Baby Milan Overcome the Odds
At 13 weeks, Anh chose to undergo a Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) to screen for genetic conditions. The results showed she was a carrier of Alpha Thalassemia Major, a serious hemoglobin disorder that could affect their baby’s health.
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January 28, 2025
One team, one triumph: How multidisciplinary care helped heal Ivan's trauma
Due to the severity of the impact, Ivan’s seat flew out of the car, and he became trapped in his seat belt. It took two hours for an emergency response team with special equipment to remove the family from their vehicle
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January 27, 2025
Meet Trinity Johnson: The Courageous Heart Warrior Who Defied the Odds of HLHS
This brave heart warrior already has undergone six heart procedures to address her complex condition: hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) with severely depressed heart function.
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January 24, 2025
Rylee Noble: A journey of strength, determination and advocacy in the face of Hurler syndrome
Diagnosed with Hurler-Scheie syndrome at just 10 years old, Rylee hasn’t had an easy journey, but her strength and positive attitude have never wavered through it all.
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October 28, 2024
Kaylah’s story: Jumping, spiking, and diving into her volleyball passions without pain from scoliosis
Kaylah received a diagnosis of scoliosis during a routine doctor’s exam while in elementary school. The timing of her diagnosis is very common between the ages of 10 and 18.
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October 15, 2024
From Track Star to Cancer Survivor: Jace’s Triumphant Journey Overcoming Ewing’s Sarcoma
At 16 years old, Jace was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. His world, once filled with the thrill of the race, suddenly revolved around hospital visits, chemotherapy and radiation sessions, and surgeries.
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September 10, 2024
Elite High School Track Athlete Overcomes Hip Dysplasia with Periacetabular Osteotomy (PAO)
Gabrielle Edwards, a 17-year-old multisport athlete specializing in track and field, faced a significant challenge that threatened her athletic dreams. Diagnosed with hip dysplasia, she underwent hip preservation surgery
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September 5, 2024
Advanced Interventional Radiology Technology: Izzy's Path to Recovery from 8 inches of a Blood Clot
When the pain wouldn’t go away, Melissa took Izzy to see her pediatrician, who examined her left leg and noticed it was swollen, red and firm to the touch. Suspecting a blood clot, the pediatrician immediately referred Izzy to the pediatric emergency room at Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital.
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August 7, 2024
Finley's Triumph: Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Surgery
As Finley approached his teen years, he faced multiple procedures that profoundly impacted his life under the skilled care of Manish Shah, MD, a pediatric neurosurgeon affiliated with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and its Children’s Neuroscience Center. His journey through years of physica...
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July 29, 2024
Collin’s Story: Harnessing the Power of Determination and Positive Thinking to Overcome Scoliosis
“There isn’t a thing out there that stops me. When I got the scoliosis diagnosis, I had to rethink how I was going to live life. But you can’t give up,” said Collin.
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July 26, 2024
Surgery for Tetralogy of Fallot Unleashes the Full Potential of Sienna Wilson’s Brain
When Sienna Grace Wilson was born, a little fighter came into the world. Her parents, Sarah and David Wilson, were in awe of their new baby. They were also very emotional because of Sienna’s pre-birth diagnosis of Tetralogy of Fallot.
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July 26, 2024
Jumping for Joy – Zion’s Journey with Cerebral Palsy and SDR Surgery
Around the age of 3, Zion was officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). After several temporary therapies and treatments, Zion’s parents continued to advocate for their son.
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June 20, 2024
Gavin’s Story: Overcoming Omphalocele
But in December of that year, during a routine screening in their hometown of Lufkin, Texas, Blain’s doctor found signs suggesting their baby might have spina bifida. The news was shocking, and the couple travelled to visit with specialists for extensive testing. The tests revealed that their son...
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June 10, 2024
Beating the odds: How Amy survived after a tumor caused her heart to stop 400 times in six days
Amy and her team navigated through complex medical and emotional challenges with a level of courage, confidence and precision that saved her life and revitalized her future.
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May 3, 2024
From traumatic injury to triumphant recovery: Navigating the path to healing with hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Michael, fresh from a game of youth football, was enjoying a casual dirt bike ride around the neighborhood with his dad. This normalcy was shattered in an instant when an accident left Michael with a severe compound fracture in his leg. The shock and fear were immediate.
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April 17, 2024
Landon's Journey: Overcoming CDH with Gratitude and Hope
When Elizabeth came in for a second scan a week later, things felt off. The ultrasound technician kept going back to the same spot, muttering about the baby's diaphragm. Finally, she broke the silence with, "I can't see his diaphragm. It's there... and then it stops. I need to contact your OBGYN....
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April 12, 2024
Dottie's Heart Journey: A Tale of Resilience, Faith and a Life Without Limits
Navigating this amazing journey, Dottie’s parents, Brad and Caitlin, were by her side, backed by the medical team at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital where she was transferred after birth. From fetal heart diagnostics to the heart-wrenching uncertainties that followed, their daugh...
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March 25, 2024
A Soldier's Sacrifice: Relocating for Her Baby's Lifeline to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital
The majority of Teemer’s pregnancy was uneventful, and she felt healthy, happy and excited. But as she neared the 34-week mark, she began experiencing an unrelenting migraine for three consecutive days. Concerned, she sought medical attention at the hospital where she worked, just to ensure...
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March 14, 2024
Reaching the End Zone: Tucker Lee's Inspiring Journey from Knee Injury to Football Dream
However, in 2022, Tucker faced a major setback when he sustained a knee injury unrelated to football during his sophomore year of high school. The incident took place while he was wrestling. He got stuck in a twisted position and didn’t realize he tore his meniscus at that moment. The next ...
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February 19, 2024
A Heart's Odyssey: Baby Halo's Courageous Battle Against Two Rare Heart Conditions
Their journey, however, took an unexpected and dramatic turn when, at just 22 weeks’ gestation, Jameka’s water broke prematurely. Fearing the worst, they rushed to a local Houston hospital where Jameka was admitted to the Labor & Delivery unit.
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February 15, 2024
A life reimagined: Evan's victory over adult congenital diaphragmatic hernia
Rewind to the year 2020. Evan and his wife, Rachel, were expecting their first child. Rachel was several months pregnant and in the process of completing years of study for a PhD. It was during this time that Evan noticed that something wasn’t quite feeling right with his health.
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February 6, 2024
Optimizing patient outcomes: Advancements in surgical navigation for scoliosis treatment
At just 15 years old, Jenny Gonzales has a profound understanding of conquering life’s adversities. She has endured 17 medical procedures including two open-heart surgeries. In July 2023, she faced another formidable obstacle: an 11-hour surgery to correct a severe curvature in her spine....
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January 24, 2024
Message From the Heart: A Life-Changing Text Message and Story of Hope at the Children’s Heart Institute at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital
For Demetric Fisher, her daughter Kaydan's health was such a test. Born on June 20, 2012, in Jackson, Miss., little Kaydan’s life led her family on an emotional rollercoaster that would shape their lives for years to come.
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January 23, 2024
William’s CDH and heart journey: A story of hope, resilience and positive outcomes
Despite the previous reassuring tests, William’s position during the ultrasound raised concerns. His heart appeared too far to the left and his stomach couldn’t be located.
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October 23, 2023
Expecting Emory: A Mother's Journey Through Pregnancy, COVID-19, and Recovery
This was the case for Jessica Harris-Wiltz, 38, when she became pregnant in 2019. Little did she know that her pregnancy would take place during the global COVID-19 pandemic and lead to a life-threatening situation for her and her baby during an already high-risk pregnancy.
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September 27, 2023
Mya’s story: A brave and courageous battle against ALL
Mya Guerra had always been extremely energetic, constantly running around, playing, and just full of life. Then, a few weeks shy of her sixth birthday, she began experiencing unusual symptoms that caught her parents off guard and concerned them. It was unlike anything they had seen before.
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May 19, 2023
Ripp’s story: Family credits Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital’s affiliated trauma team and TIRR Memorial Hermann for son’s recovery from a traumatic brain injury following a tractor accident.
On September 24, 2022, Chase and Kendall had a few friends over at their family farm in El Campo where they gathered around the fire pit, grilling fajitas. It was supposed to be a fun and relaxing afternoon on the farm. But then, in a matter of minutes, everything changed so quickly. Ripp had bee...
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May 10, 2023
Rebecca’s Story: Care in Katy through the Comprehensive Congenital Colorectal Program
In the spring of 2021, Francesca and Carlos Recao, who live near Katy, Texas, were finally feeling settled as first-time parents. Their little girl, Rebecca Rose, had just turned 9 months old, and the couple was soaking up every moment as a family of three. But during Rebecca’s 9-month well...
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April 5, 2023
Evan’s Story: Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Gave Our Son Renewed Hope and Optimism
The Carkhuffs’ journey to find answers for their son involved relocating their family 1,600 miles away from their home in Pennsylvania to Houston, Texas, where they found hope. Houston has been home to the family for the past 16 years, and it was in Houston where they found the doctors that...
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March 21, 2023
Isaac’s story: The Comprehensive Congenital Colorectal Program helped give our son the ability to live a socially confident life
Isaac was born with imperforate anus, a rare birth defect where there is no anus (opening) at the end of his digestive tract. Isaac also had a neurogenic bladder, a term that describes what happens when neurological conditions affect the way the bladder functions. He had surgery to reconstruct hi...
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February 28, 2023
Making remarkable progress: Derek’s courageous fight against leukemia
Since the day Derek Noriega was born, he had always been a healthy and physically active child. He rarely ate out and preferred healthy, home-cooked meals by his mom Yaris. But in late February 2021, when Derek was 7 years old, he began developing unusual symptoms that concerned his mother. ...
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February 27, 2023
Cynthia’s Story: Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery for Urologic Condition Vastly Improves Quality of Life
An MRI revealed a tumor on Cynthia’s spine. The pressure was affecting her nerves, causing numbness in her legs. Because of the location of the tumor, it was critical that it be removed as quickly as possible before causing further damage to the nerves in her spi...
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February 24, 2023
Slade’s Story: A Journey to a Flawless Heart Transplant
Shortly after Slade was born in October 2011, he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. This condition is dominated by a heart that’s too big, causing the heart muscle to be very weak and have a leaky mitral valve.
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February 23, 2023
Jayden’s story: Family credits Children’s Memorial Hermann’s pediatric burn treatment program for son’s recovery from second-degree burns after microwave incident
"I burned myself,” said Jayden. “As I was walking to the living room, I heard the microwave ding. Since my mom was still outside, I wanted to help her out so I decided to get the food out of the microwave. I went to the kitchen, got up on the counter, and opened the microwave door. Wh...
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February 7, 2023
Luke’s Story: Above and beyond care after a hypoplastic left heart syndrome diagnosis
As soon as possible, she and Troy made an appointment with The Fetal Center at Children Memorial Hermann Hospital for an in-utero echocardiogram, which would provide a detailed image of their baby's heart. Prenatal diagnosis plays a vital role in identifying critical cardiac defects, helps guide ...
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February 6, 2023
Giving Theodore a fighting chance: This little heart warrior beat the odds after HLHS diagnosis
Theodore was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a complex congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and cannot pump oxygen-rich blood to the body. Babies with this condition need a minimum of three open-heart surgeries. ...
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January 17, 2023
Maggie’s Story: Seeking Out Highly Specialized Care for Placenta Accreta
“My doctor and I decided together to monitor it and follow up with another scan in a few weeks,” Maggie said. “I was so nervous after I first learned about my diagnosis, so I started doing all of this research on my own, and that’s when I first came across The Fetal ...
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January 4, 2023
Dylan’s Story: Celebrating Small, but Mighty Victories After Fetoscopic Spina Bifida Surgery
"The ultrasound showed the ventricles in my baby’s brain were enlarged,” said Courtney. “Concerned he might have hydrocephalus, my OB-GYN sent me to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in town.” A few days later, Courtney met with her family friend and MFM physician, Dr. ...
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December 9, 2022
“You Never Expect to Need It:” A Family Expresses Gratitude for Memorial Hermann’s Infant CPR Class
On a recent Saturday this past August, new parents Chris and Salma were hosting a small dinner party for friends. They had recently moved into a new home and were excited to get a group together for the first time since the pandemic had started. Between work, life and raising a young baby d...
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November 16, 2022
Alexandra's Story: A Combined Approach for Hip Dysplasia Helps Elite Athletes Return to Competition
Elite athlete Alexandra Wainwright, 20, began her practice of karate at the age of 8. At the age of 17, she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and had bilateral hip preservation surgeries as a patient at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Now, Alexandra competes with the best athletes from...
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October 28, 2022
Wyatt’s Spina Bifida Journey: How Our Miracle Baby Beat the Odds One Step at a Time
A few weeks later, Sarah returned to her OB-GYN for another anatomy ultrasound. As the ultrasound technician glided the probe on Sarah’s growing belly, she noticed something unusual on the monitor. “The ultrasound showed Wyatt had fluid in his brain,” said Sarah.
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October 18, 2022
Brielle Grace’s Story: A Micro-Preemie’s Incredible Story of Survival
At the time, Shamesia was only 18 weeks along. Although their baby’s heartbeat was strong, the amniotic fluid was too low for the baby’s lungs to develop during the critical period between 16 to 20 weeks’ gestation
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October 17, 2022
Lindsay and Kendall’s Story: Finding help for their unborn baby’s spina bifida
Their baby had spina bifida. A portion of her lower spinal cord was exposed. The long-term effects could be seizures, bowel and bladder control issues, and difficulty walking. She might also need a special shunt to regulate her brain’s fluid levels.
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September 12, 2022
Kayla’s Story: Overcoming Health Challenges and a High-Risk Pregnancy
Kayla’s pregnancy was considered high risk because she had several pre-existing medical conditions including gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and lupus, an inflammatory autoimmune disorder. Since she had gastric sleeve surgery, that also elevated h...
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September 9, 2022
Defying the odds: Carlos’ story of courage, hope and resilience
Carlos’ intraventricular hemorrhage (neonatal brain bleed) led to scarring in his brain from being born prematurely. The severe scarring and lack of blood flow to his brain tissue contributed to periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), a softening of the white brain tissue near the fluid-f...
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September 6, 2022
Natalia’s Story: Highlighting Deaf Awareness Month
While she was in the NICU being treated for her low blood sugar, Natalia also underwent all the standard newborn testing, including a newborn hearing screening. It was after that test when Zenia first learned there may be a problem with her daughter’s ability to ...
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August 16, 2022
Mya’s Story: Setting Her Sights on Big Dreams After Scoliosis Surgery
After undergoing scoliosis surgery seven years ago at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital to treat a severe curvature in her spine followed by three months of healing and recovery – 21-year-old Mya Aguilar has overcome many challenges, and with her audacity and boldness, she is makin...
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June 14, 2022
Miracle at the Children’s Heart Institute: Flora Sandt Avoids a Heart Transplant
At the age of 5 months, Flora Sandt was already sitting and starting to roll, and she could push herself up on her belly and look around. She is the third child of Rebekkah and Justin Sandt, and based on their experience, she appeared to be meeting her developmental milestones. Then she caught a ...
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May 24, 2022
Ryder’s Story: Our Son’s Courageous Heart Journey
When Falon was 23 weeks pregnant, she was very excited about her next ultrasound and couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of Ryder on the ultrasound screen to see how much he had grown since his last anatomy scan. At first, things were going well. Then, the atmosphere in the room abruptly chan...
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May 18, 2022
Addie’s Story: From NICU Nurse to NICU Mom
After being married for four years, Addie and Chase Adamek of Pearland were excited to learn that they were expecting in 2018. Addie was a NICU nurse at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center and Chase was a middle school PE teacher and coach. Ultrasound after ultr...
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May 12, 2022
Neal Wille’s Path to a Big Smile
Three-year-old Neal Wille is among the one in 700 kids annually around the world born with a cleft lip and palate. Today, he’s a ball of smiles and sunshine when his parents bring him to see the Texas Cleft-Craniofacial Team for follow-up care after his surgeries that were performed at Chil...
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April 28, 2022
Meet the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital patient honoree for the Crohn’s and Colitis Walk in Houston
On May 1, 2022, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation will be holding its Take Steps Walk and 17-year-old Mateo Skeete, a patient at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, will be this year’s patient honoree.
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April 25, 2022
Thanks to Doctors Who Aim High, Kingston Murriel Has a Whole Heart and a Full Life
A passion for innovative solutions, a desire to provide hope to children who previously had none, outside-the-box thinking, and quality outcomes – these are the hallmarks of the Children’s Heart Institute, a collaboration between Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and McGovern Medical School at...
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April 14, 2022
Memorial Hermann Team Improves Outcomes for Pregnant Mother With High-Risk Complications Due to Gestational Diabetes and Preeclampsia
Almost 4 years after her daughter, Sutton, was born, Joymesha Jones recalls her pregnancy, along with its challenges, like it was yesterday. As a 35-year-old expectant mother, her first and second trimesters flew by right on track. She knew about the potential risks due to her weight, but o...
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March 11, 2022
Khai’Mora’s Story: Mehta Casting Treatment for Infantile Scoliosis
Latorree Garrett describes the first time she saw an X-ray of her daughter’s spine. “To me, it looked like a lizard,” she says. Despite the shock of seeing the severe curvature of her daughter’s spine, she was thankful to finally have a diagnosis for her daughter, now 2 ye...
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March 7, 2022
Himanshu’s Story: Novel Treatment for Hereditary Spastic Paraparesis
A novel treatment approach at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital is giving 17-year-old Himanshu Prasad the opportunity to live life free of the muscle tightness and spasticity that has plagued him since birth.
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February 25, 2022
Isabella’s Story: A Complex Neonatal Heart Patient and Her Mother’s Whole World
Sweet Isabella was held by her mother Jessica for just a few moments before being whisked away for her first heart surgery at just 14 hours old. Born with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, half of Isabella’s heart was severely underdeveloped causing major issues with blood f...
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February 9, 2022
Family Travels from Mexico to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital for Child's Brain Surgery
When an MRI revealed a cyst causing pressure on 11-year-old Santiago Sanchez’s brain, doctors in Mexico City were unable to offer treatment options. The family’s search for treatment ultimately led them to Children’s Memorial Hermann-affiliated pediatric neurosurgeon, David Sand...
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October 1, 2021
16-year-old Avoids Heart Transplant With Innovative Biventricular Conversion Procedure
Rasheed Alshammari had been on the waiting list for a heart transplant at a California hospital for over a year. When the surgeon who was to perform the transplant left the hospital, Rasheed was removed from the list.
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August 9, 2021
Mason Mims: A Normal, Whole Heart and a Bright Future
Karen and Taylor Mims spent the first six years of their son’s life trying to accept the fact that he was born with half a heart and would eventually require a heart transplant. Now, thanks to an innovative procedure being performed by affiliated pediatric heart surgeons at Children’s...
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May 28, 2021
Carter’s Story: Multidisciplinary Team Treats Newborn with Rare Congenital Tumor
At Sarah’s 16-week ultrasound, her obstetrician explained that one of the babies she was carrying had a 2- to 3-centimeter mass at the base of his tailbone. The doctor explained that the baby had a sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT), a tumor growing at the base of his tailbone. SCT is a rare condition...
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April 28, 2021
Lily Nail Celebrates Independence from Spina Bifida
Hailee Nail learned her baby had spina bifida on Aug. 13, 2020, when she saw her obstetrician in Tulsa, Okla., for her 20-week anatomy scan. “My OB/GYN told me that it would require surgery and gave me the names of several centers, but he wanted me to go to Houston,” she says.
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April 22, 2021
Derek Hackworth: Infant Thriving One Year After Kidney Transplant
In April 2020, Keisha Howell and David Hackworth got the call they’d been waiting for. “It was about 11 o’clock at night, and a nurse from the Transplant Center called and said, ‘We have a match for Derek.’ I packed up Derek and headed straight there,” says Keisha.
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April 22, 2021
Matthew Alvarez: Donor Kidney Gives Infant a Bright Future
Pamela Alvarez exudes gratitude. Like most parents, she and her husband, Mike, are grateful to have healthy children, but the couple are also eternally grateful for the generous kidney donor who gave their younger son, Matthew, a second chance.
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February 9, 2021
Redefining Wholeheartedness: Faith, Hope and a Nontraditional Approach Save Newborn’s Life
Kemberlee Burgert's baby was diagnosed with Ebstein anomaly, a rare congenital heart defect in which the tricuspid valve, the valve between the upper right chamber (right atrium) and the lower right chamber (right ventricle), isn’t formed properly, allowing blood to leak back into the right atriu...
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February 9, 2021
Camryn and Morgan: Identical Again
At her 8-week maternity check-up, Chanelle Smith and her husband, Patrick, were surprised and delighted to learn that Chanelle was carrying identical twins. At 28 weeks, Dr. Ramos identified a small hole in the heart of one of the babies. Additional tests revealed that the baby suffered from a co...
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January 27, 2021
David’s Story: Freedom from IV Nutrition
Eight-year-old David Martinez is finally free of the intravenous (IV) tube through which he has received essential nourishment since birth. His team of physicians at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hosp...
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October 20, 2020
Pohla Boys Thrive Despite Mitochondrial Disease
Melody and Doug Pohla have much to be proud of and thankful for. Their three sons, Nicholas, 17, Nathan, 15, and Daniel, 12, are all bright, active and extremely accomplished young men, each in his own right. Their firstborn, Nicholas, earned his first Tae Kwando black belt when we was 8 years ol...
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July 7, 2020
Andrew’s Story: Team Approach Cures Rare Lung Defect
When their unborn son was diagnosed with a rare and potentially life-threatening congenital birth defect, Carrie and Jordan Farrar knew they needed to find the experts, and fast. Fortunately, the couple from Tyler, Texas, was referred to The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. T...
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June 30, 2020
Aryah’s CDH Story: Thriving at 4
Aryah plays basketball. She cheerleads. She rides horses. She jumps on the trampoline and loves water slides. “She’s ahead of the curve for her age,” says Courtney. But that wasn’t always the case. Before Aryah was born, Courtney and her husband, Robert, learned that their baby had congenital dia...
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April 3, 2020
To Grief and Back: Joy, Heartbreak and Gratitude in the Dugger Family
Christine and Blake Dugger learned they were pregnant with twins in December, 2017. “The entire pregnancy was a surprise,” Christine Dugger says. “We have two older daughters, who were six and three at the time, and we were very much not planning on having more children, but whe...
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April 1, 2020
Sophia’s Story: Growth Modulation to Correct Bowed Legs
When Sophia was 6 or 7, her knees started to bow. At around age 8, she began experiencing knee and ankle pain. That’s when Leanne took her to see Dr. Younas, a pediatric orthopedic and scoliosis surgeon affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and an associate professor in the Departm...
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August 14, 2019
Gage's Story: Pectus Surgery Puts Basketball Star Back on the Court
Gage Hulse is having the time of his life. The 19-year-old basketball star from Huffman, Texas, recently graduated from high school and is college bound on a full-ride athletic scholarship. During his senior year, he led his team, the Huffman Falcons, to a record-breaking season and a district ch...
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April 22, 2019
Cason's Story: Boy Born With Half A Heart Undergoes Innovative Procedure Giving Him A Normal Heart
During her 20-week ultrasound, Savannah’s obstetrician diagnosed that her unborn baby’s heart was abnormally small and referred her to a maternal fetal medicine specialist. The specialist ordered a dedicated fetal echocardiogram (“echo”), a specialized ultrasound of the fe...
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April 14, 2019
Pregnant Mother Placed on Bedrest at 14 Weeks Delivers Twin Rainbow Babies at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital
After a heartbreaking loss of her first baby at 19 weeks’ gestation in 2017, Tonjanic Hill, 31, was excited but apprehensive when she became pregnant again two years later…with not one baby, but two! She understood that it wouldn’t be an easy road, and in her second trimester, ...
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January 7, 2019
Aubree Ford: Positive Steps Towards Independence
Aubree was diagnosed as a baby with spastic triplegic cerebral palsy. In her case, both her legs and her left arm had spasticity – a condition that made her affected limbs rigid and stiff. Because of the spasticity, Aubree has had physical therapy since she was a baby to help manage it. She has n...
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August 31, 2018
Grayson’s Story: Staying Ahead of Type 1 Diabetes
Thirteen-year-old Grayson likes typical kid things – basketball, taekwondo, running, pizza and birthday cake. For Grayson, these things, which a “typical” kid might take for granted, carry a potential danger. Without proactive management of his insulin intake, too much physical exertion can send ...
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August 7, 2018
Mila Grace: The Little Smile Monster
When Natalie’s unborn baby daughter, Mila Grace, was diagnosed with spina bifida in utero, Natalie and her husband, Kevin, were stunned. After a routine ultrasound done just a week earlier, her obstetrician suspected that one of Mila Grace’s feet was clubbed and referred Natalie to a ...
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August 7, 2018
Caleb’s Story: Successful Emergency Surgery for Obstructed Pulmonary Vein
A well-orchestrated chain of events saved the life of Caleb, a newborn with a rare and very serious congenital (present at birth) heart defect. Fortunately, that chain was populated by an experienced and collaborative team who worked together seamlessly to diagnose, transport and treat the baby. ...
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July 5, 2018
Lexi’s Story: Bouncing back from a Shattered Femur
A double bounce on a trampoline at her brother’s birthday party sent 11-year-old Lexi spiraling out of control, landing hard on her right leg. Thankfully, Lexi would end up in the skilled hands of Lindsay Crawford, MD, an affiliated pediatric orthopedic surgeon at McGovern Medical School at UTHea...
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May 31, 2018
Chadrick’s Story Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
Fourteen-year-old Chadrick, who plays outside linebacker for his school’s football team, struggled with hip soreness and stiffness for months, especially when engaging in physical activities. He took anti-inflammatories and iced his hip, but the pain and stiffness kept coming back. When his fathe...
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May 9, 2018
Cameron’s Story: Multidisciplinary Team Supports Boy on His Long Journey of Healing
Cameron is on the “A” honor roll in his fifth-grade class, a significant achievement for any kid. Cameron is not just any kid. He is a survivor. At 10 years of age, Cameron has already undergone 24 surgical procedures. Cameron was diagnosed with an extremely rare genetic condition known as Mandib...
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February 23, 2018
Camden’s Story: Surgical Correction for Pectus
After year's of different diagnoses, Camden's breathing and chest pains were worsening until the doctors at Children's Memorial Hermann stepped in and got him the diagnosis and treatment he needed. Camden was diagnosed with pectus excavatum, also known as funnel chest, the most common congenital ...
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February 8, 2018
Mina’s Story: Teen Gymnast Overcomes Vascular Anomaly
Fourteen-year-old Mina is a champion. Every day, she overcomes obstacles to pursue her lifelong goal of becoming a world-class gymnast. But recently, despite her hard work and fierce determination to be the best, Mina almost met her match. Mina was born with a venous malformation on her right che...
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February 2, 2018
Hayes’ Story: Supravalvular Aortic Stenosis
Hayes appeared to be a perfectly healthy newborn. Three hours after birth, however, a nurse who was listening to his heart through a stethoscope heard an abnormal heart sound – a heart murmur – indicating a possible heart problem. A cardiologist ordered an echocardiogram (diagnostic cardiac ultra...
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January 8, 2018
Pregnant after 40: Jennifer’s Story
As fall of 2011 approached, Jennifer Sailors was 40 years old and in the prime of her life. Between working and having a family, Jennifer was busy, but she was used to that. Then one day, she realized she was feeling run-down. “I thought, gosh I’m really tired,” she remembers. &...
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January 8, 2018
Aryah’s CDH Story: The First FETO Intervention Patient of The Fetal Center
Courtney and Robert both remember the feeling of pure joy in January 2016 when finding out they were pregnant with their second child – a baby girl – after three years of trying. Their happiness soon gave way to worry, though, when Courtney’s obstetrician said her ultrasound sca...
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January 7, 2018
A Smile So Sweet: Jacob’s Cleft Lip Story
On April 21, 2014, Leah Yeglin gave birth to her son, Jacob. Moments later, she began to sense something was wrong – and soon learned her intuition was right. A nurse informed her that Jacob had a cleft lip but, thankfully, was otherwise healthy. “It was a shock,” Yeglin remembers. “I thought tha...
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January 7, 2018
Bending the Curve: Mya’s Scoliosis Story
It was November 2014, and Mya Aguilar was three months into her eighth-grade year. She had been called down to the school nurse for an annual checkup. When the school nurse asked Mya to bend over and touch her toes, she noticed something wrong with the eighth-grader’s back. Mya’s mother, Geneva A...
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January 5, 2018
Off His Chest: Dylan’s Pectus Story
Being a teenager is often difficult and confusing. For Dylan Palomino, that was compounded by his discovery, at age 14, that he had the genetic condition known as pectus excavatum, which causes the breastbone to sink into the chest, sometimes dramatically. “I was in junior high, a time when you’r...
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January 5, 2018
Filling the Gaps: Gavin’s CDH Story
Amy Sager was 20 weeks pregnant with her second child when, during a routine ultrasound, she found out she was carrying a boy. But for Sager and her husband, Kevin, what should have been a joyous moment soon gave way to concern. The baby’s heart, the obstetrician informed them, was pushed to the ...
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January 4, 2018
Max’s Story: Little Patients – More Than Just Small Adults
It was 6 a.m. on a summer morning when it happened: 3-year-old Max Mullervy, asleep next to his mother, Laura, rolled off the bed. He missed the cushions she had placed on the floor, and on the way down, hit his eye on the side table. Max’s scream woke his mom with a start. “It was a ...
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January 3, 2018
Chloe's Journey With Dysautonomia
Chloe spent months in the offices of a local neurologist and neurosurgeon as they tried to determine what was wrong. Finally, one of them referred her to Dr. Ian Butler, a pediatric neurologist affiliated with Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, about her many health concerns: headaches, lack o...
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January 3, 2018
Sticky Situation: When Glue Fixes a Brain and Saves a Life
When a very rare brain condition caused fourth-grader Lauren Lackey to slip into a coma, her parents, Sandy and Mark Lackey hate to think what would have happened to their daughter if the ambulance had not made the long drive to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Mark remembers feeling i...
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January 2, 2018
A Surgeon’s Secret: As She Operated on Babies’ Birth Defects, a Doctor Hid Her Own Diagnosis
For many years, Dr. Mary Austin could count on one hand the people who knew. There was her close friend through middle school, who helped her pee by pushing on her lower abdomen. Years later, during her surgical training at Vanderbilt University, she confided in a mentor. Her husband knew, of cou...
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December 28, 2017
Finally at Ease: A Remarkable Surgery Cures a 3-Month-Old Baby with Epilepsy
By the time he was 3 months old, Wesley’s seizures were occurring up to 55 times a day — every minute or two while he was awake, and every 10 to 15 minutes when he slept. His doctor prescribed him nine different medications over the course of three months, but none provided long-lasting relief. D...
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December 7, 2017
Lizzy’s NICU Stay: The Bright Spot in a Dark Cloud
Meghann had planned a natural home birth for her first child, Elizabeth Caroline (“Lizzy”). When she started having abdominal pains at 23 weeks, her midwife ordered lab tests that came back normal. A week before Lizzy was born on January 18, 2013, severe abdominal pain sent Meghann to...
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November 28, 2017
Andrea: An Unusual Brain Tumor
When Andrea was 15, a CT scan showed an unusually large, dense mass in the back part of her brain - with a buildup of fluid. The imaging study revealed an unusually large, dense mass in the posterior fossa - the lower back of the skull containing the brain stem and cerebellum- with obstructive hy...
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November 27, 2017
Iris’ Story: MoMo Twins Survive Rollercoaster Start
When Iris finally got her wish, an ultrasound revealed not one, but two heartbeats. Twins. Identical twins, in fact. Iris and her husband were elated. But the ultrasound indicated a potential problem, and her doctor referred her to The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.&n...
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November 16, 2017
Treating a Life-Threatening Brain Injury: From Life Flight to OR Table in Nine Minutes
A small bump on the head during a game at his elementary school in Lufkin, Texas – at first Landon Courtney’s injury seemed minor. The seven-year-old was playing four corners in his P.E. class in early March 2016 when his feet got tangled with a classmate’s. He fell to the gym f...
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November 16, 2017
Pediatric Hydrocephalus: Another Infant Avoids a Shunt
Harper Lowery was born prematurely at 29 weeks 6 days, the larger of fraternal twins. A cranial ultrasound performed at 10 days of life revealed a bilateral intraventricular hemorrhage. With blood clots blocking the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), Harper’s head began to enlarge to accomm...
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November 16, 2017
Endoscopic Management of Sagittal Craniosynostosis
A rare condition that occurs in 1 in 2,500 babies born in the United States, craniosynostosis changes the growth pattern of the skull by premature fusion of its fibrous sutures. Robert is among the 40% to 60% of cases in which the sagittal suture fuses earlier than normal. Thanks to his mother’s ...
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October 17, 2017
Noah's Story: Acute Appendicitis
When 9-year-old Noah complained of a stomachache, his mother, Susan, attributed it to everything he ate the day before. A few days later Noah went to a pediatrician, who took one look at Noah, touched his stomach and sent them straight to the nearest ER at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land. There, a CT...
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October 13, 2017
Faith Hagler Five Years Later: Celebrating Independence from Spina Bifida
Picture the bounciest, bubbliest five-year-old you can imagine. Her songs and dance moves come straight from Beyoncé. She loves bright colors and runs to the mirror to check every outfit. Her goal is to be a superstar. And she is a child who was born with spina bifida, one whose immediate future ...
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August 3, 2017
Ishaan Pavuluri Makes A Comeback
“It all happened in less than a minute,” Deepthi Bollu says. “We ran outside and looked around, then ran to the front and side of the house. By then I had a bad feeling, and when we looked in the pool, we saw him at the bottom.” After nearly three minutes of CPR administered according to instruct...
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June 28, 2017
Erick Sandoval: A Successful Brain Surgery Changes a Young Boy’s Career Choice
At first Debra Johnson didn’t associate her 11-year-old son’s unusual behavior with seizure activity. He would go through periods of seeming spacey, and she couldn't figure the issue out. After an MRI revealed a small tumor in his right temporal lobe, the family was referred to Dr. David Sandberg...
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May 31, 2017
Treveon's Story: Scoliosis Surgery Puts Treveon Back in Action
Since he first began playing football at age 5, Treveon, now a high school sophomore, has dreamed of playing college ball, maybe even going pro. But in eighth grade, he was temporarily sidelined, when a routine visit to his pediatrician revealed a hump on his upper back. X-rays showed a curvature...
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May 31, 2017
MaKayla’s Story: Scoliosis Strikes Out
MaKayla’s scoliosis diagnosis came as a complete shock. The petite 13-year-old was a cheerleader, tumbled and played competition softball. By all appearances, she was perfectly healthy. Yet, in September 2015, a visit to a chiropractor for a back injury resulting from a trampoline incident ...
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March 31, 2017
Grace’s Story: Overcoming CDH
For some parents, a newborn’s cry can cause distress. But for Marlen and Kevin, hearing their daughter Grace’s first cry brought relief and joy. Grace was born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a condition that occurs during fetal development that can lead to severe respiratory and ot...
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March 22, 2017
Jamie Wright's Hydrocephalus Story: A Personal Matter Becomes a Professional Motivation
Since Jamie Wright was a child, she has wanted to change the outlook for people who struggle with a diagnosis of hydrocephalus, which is the most common reason some children require brain surgery. Out of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S., about one to two are born with hydrocephalus, a conditi...
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February 15, 2017
Kevin and Karla: Supraglottoplasty for Neonatal Laryngomalacia
Kevin and Karla Urrutia were born at term, but as twins they were both underweight – the boy weighing in at 4 pounds 10 ounces and the girl at 4 pounds 15 ounces. “Karla was eating fine after birth, but Kevin had stridor caused by a soft, immature cartilage of the upper larynx that ob...
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February 15, 2017
Laryngotracheal Reconstruction: A Long-Awaited Resolution for Jayda Hector
Pediatric otorhinolaryngologist, Sancak Yuksel, MD, at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital has provided care for Jayda Hector since shortly after she was born in October 2010 at just 26 weeks’ gestation. After 12 trips to the OR at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, the six ...
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January 11, 2017
Cristian Serrato: Deep Brain Stimulation Transforms a Life
Much of neurology is detective work. Like good sleuthing, successful practice demands profound knowledge, honed investigative skills, persistence and a measure of artistry. In the case of Cristian Serrato, diagnosis and treatment of a challenging disorder required all of these talents and more. U...
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December 29, 2016
Thea’s Story: Hemangioma, an Angel’s Kiss
During a routine well-baby checkup shortly after Thea was born, her pediatrician noted a small red spot on Thea’s temple, adjacent her right eye. Colleen , Thea’s mother, recalls, “Our pediatrician knew immediately that the red spot was a hemangioma, and he told us it would grow...
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December 22, 2016
Back from the Brink: Dominic's Story
Dominic was only 18-months-old when he followed the family dog out the back door and fell into the family’s hot tub. He was transported to the emergency room at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital. During his stay, he was put on ECMO, which is an advanced life support treatment for critically il...
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November 1, 2016
Leila Pedraza’s Light at the End of the Tunnel
Three-year-old Leila went to her first ballet class in September 2016, an experience that might have been beyond her reach without the medical skills of Amy Schefler, M.D., FACS, an affiliated ocular oncologist and retinoblastoma specialist at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital’s Te...
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October 10, 2016
Darius Sonia: The Perfect Candidate for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy
A caring and informed mother, a knowledgeable physical therapist and an expert in the surgical management of spasticity have transformed the life of eight-year-old Darius Sonia. Born seven weeks early, Darius suffered an intraventricular hemorrhage in the first few days of life – a common occurre...
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July 15, 2016
Cassandra's Story: Gastroschisis
As Sabrina sat at her 16-week checkup, she was expecting her appointment to be ordinary. However, after receiving her ultrasound, she found out her baby girl was diagnosed with a birth defect known as gastroschisis. Shocked and scared about her baby’s health, her obstetrician referred her to The ...
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July 15, 2016
Macy's Story: Cleft Lip and Palate
As Kenzie and Ricky attended their routine 18-week ultrasound, they expected everything to go smoothly; however, they received unexpected information about their baby girl, Macy. Their unborn daughter was diagnosed with a unilateral cleft (a split occurring on one side) that extended all the way ...
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March 1, 2016
With A Heart Full of Gratitude: A Former Patient Thanks The PICU
Erinn Brown was 34 weeks pregnant when she realized something was wrong with her baby. An ultrasound showed that the left ventricle of the baby’s heart was very small and nearly nonexistent. Brown’s doctor referred her to The Fetal Center at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital....
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February 10, 2016
Baby Luke's Battle With CDH
Jayden and Luke. Two-year-old identical twin boys. They run and wrestle, giggle and converse in their own shared lingo – jibber-jabber only they understand. But Jayden is taller, more robust. Luke wears the same size clothes as the boys’ younger brother Cooper. Each of the twins in his own way is...
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December 28, 2015
Hannah’s Story: Beating the Odds to Run Again
When sixteen-year-old Hannah Hendricks faced the biggest setback of her life, she showed her grit to be the kind that comes from deep inside, the kind that keeps you going against the odds. And Hannah knows all about beating the odds. On the morning of July 25, 2013, Hannah, an incoming high scho...
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November 19, 2015
Daniel Turya: Recovery After a Biking-Related Brain Injury
It was Daniel Turya’s eighth birthday and he couldn’t wait to take his new birthday gift from his parents out for a spin. It was a shiny new bike, and even though he didn’t have a helmet, he was just riding right outside of his apartment doorstep with his buddies. Soon after he got on, he acciden...
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September 22, 2015
Samantha Shines On
When Samantha Shine came to TIRR Memorial Hermann Pediatric Outpatient Rehabilitation at the Kirby Glen Center, the 3-year-old was still eating puréed food – very slowly – and was underweight for her age. Six months later, she eats breakfast, lunch and dinner with her family an...
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April 16, 2015
Donate for Life: Ezra's Story
After Ezra's family started to notice him getting sick, they sought medical advice before finally ending up at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital for care. Ezra's rare disease led to him needing a liver transplant. After finding a match, his medical team went into action to perform the transpla...
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February 6, 2015
Jordan’s Story: Stroke at 16
During a routine football practice Jordan suddenly felt dizzy and showed signs that something was wrong. He was immediately taken to Memorial Hermann where affiliated pediatric neurologist Dr. Ian Butler along with neurologist Dr. Nicole Gonzales diagnosed Jordan as having had a stroke. Later aft...
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September 22, 2014
The Berry Family Story: Three Kids Inspire a City
In July 2011, three young siblings lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the way home from summer vacation in Colorado. The Berry family was traveling back to Houston when their vehicle was struck head-on by an SUV that had veered into their lane. The two brothers, Peter and Aaron, who w...
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September 15, 2014
Three Years After the Accident, the Berry Siblings Return to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital
In July 2011, three young siblings lost their parents in a tragic car accident on the way home from summer vacation. The Berry family was traveling back to Houston when their vehicle was struck head-on by an SUV. The two brothers, Peter and Aaron, sustained serious spinal cord injuries that paral...
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June 12, 2014
Angela Wrigglesworth: Spinal Muscular Atrophy
At 16 months of age, Angela Wrigglesworth was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a progressive motor neuron disease that causes weakness in the arms, legs and torso. This prevented her from walking and she began using a wheelchair at the age of 5 years. She was admitted to the TIRR Memorial ...
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June 9, 2014
Conjoined Twins Share Their Story 18 Years Later
Caitlin and Emily may seem like your average identical twin sisters. But at one time in their lives, the twins shared something much more significant and they have the visible scars to prove it: Emily and Caitlin were born conjoined. Conjoined twins are an extreme rarity, only occurring once in e...
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May 20, 2014
Cleft Lip and Palate Program Brings New Smiles to Life
Daniella Coca’s son Anthony was born with both a cleft lip and palate. Coca was five months pregnant when she received the diagnosis after a 3-D ultrasound, which afforded her and Anthony’s father several months to meet John Teichgraeber, MD, and his team, determine a plan of action and better pr...
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May 2, 2014
Physicians Bring Smiles to Patients Abroad
Pediatric surgeons have the ability to bring smiles to patients and their families. Dr. John Teichgraeber, director of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, recently brought smiles and positive outcomes to patients in Mexico as part of a medica...
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April 24, 2014
Pitching in to Help Haitian Children with Hydrocephalus
Last December, an eight-member neurosurgical team extended their practice beyond the walls of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth to Haiti, where they spent four days on a medical mission to treat children with hydrocephalus. “Like all mission trips, we ha...
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April 14, 2014
Savanna's Pediatric Epilepsy Story
Savanna and her twin brother, Austin, were happy, healthy babies, but at about 6 weeks old, Savanna began having what episodes – short periods during which she would be nonresponsive and withdrawn. Nine months later, the Lininger’s made the decision to move to Houston to be closer to ...
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March 26, 2013
Moya's Story: Cerebral Palsy
As an infant, Moya was diagnosed with a global developmental delay and, as a toddler, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. She was delayed in movements and milestones that a toddler normally accomplishes, such as sitting up, standing and saying a few clear words. Moya had received therapy befor...
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March 26, 2013
Curran: Language Delay
In November 2008, 2-year-old Curran started treatment for a language delay. When he started treatment, he was nonverbal and communicated only by using hand gestures and vocalizations. The speech-language pathologist suggested Curran’s family encourage English as his primary language, and after pr...
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March 26, 2013
Brittany's Story: Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury
In November 2008, Brittany and her family were moving from College Station to Katy when they had an accident on a two-lane road. Brittany, 11, hit the roof of the van and sustained a T5 spinal cord injury, several broken bones, a collapsed lung and other internal injuries. She was rushed to Memor...
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February 5, 2013
Tristen: Back in the Saddle
Laura and James were unloading hay from a lowboy trailer near their barn when the horses trotted up and began to nibble at the bales. Standing on the trailer, their five-year-old daughter Tristen, a rodeo rider, began waving her arms to shoo them away. Spooked by the motion, the horses turned to ...
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December 23, 2012
Lexie's Story: Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury
Eleven-year-old Lexie Bolds was having fun visiting a friend in Jasper, Texas, when she was involved in an accident that left her with a broken neck and arm. She injured vertebrae C2-C4 and injured her spinal cord at C4. Rushed to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center by Life Flight® helicopt...
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October 26, 2012
Faith: Surgery in the Womb to Repair Spina Bifida
Faith’s story begins before she was born. But unlike others, her history was complicated by a prenatal diagnosis of myelomeningocele – spina bifida – at the age of 20 weeks. A complex and permanently disabling birth defect, spina bifida involves incomplete development of a porti...